In This Video, Dr. Huntoon discusses how to avoid getting sunburn for you and your child(ren) and how to make sure you are still receiving enough of the One FREE Vitamin made available to ALL of us.

Watch the video, consider what it says and then scroll down and read the article. Knowing how to protect your child(ren) and how to protect yourself is important.

DO NOT Buy into the hype and lather up with sunscreens and sunblocks, if you do not choose to create hormone problems and bone health problems.

We are here to help you, Naturally!

Studies: Millions of U.S. Kids Lack Vitamin D

Low levels may be putting a generation at risk for heart disease, diabetes By Rob Stein The Washington Post

WASHINGTON - Millions of U.S. children have disturbingly low Vitamin D levels, possibly increasing their risk for bone problems, heart disease, diabetes and other ailments, according to two new studies that provide the first national assessment of the crucial nutrient in young Americans.

About 9 percent of those ages 1 through 21 - about 7.6 million children, adolescents and young adults - have Vitamin D levels so low they could be considered deficient, while an additional 61 percent - 50.8 million - have higher levels, but still low enough to be insufficient, according to the analysis of federal data being released Monday.

"It's astounding," said Michal L. Melamed of the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York, who helped conduct one of the studies published online by the journal Pediatrics. "At first, we couldn't believe the numbers. I think it's very worrisome."

Low Vitamin D levels are especially common among girls, adolescents and people with darker skin, according to the analysis of a nationally representative sample of more than 6,000 children. For example, 59 percent of African American teenage girls were Vitamin D deficient, Melamed's study found.

The researchers and others blamed the low levels on a combination of factors, including children spending more time watching television and playing video games instead of going outside, covering up and using sunscreen when they do go outdoors, and drinking more soda and other beverages instead of consuming milk and other foods fortified with Vitamin D.

"This appears to be another result of our unhealthy lifestyles, including a sedentary society that doesn't go out in the sun much," Melamed said.

The analysis and an accompanying federal study also found an association between low Vitamin D levels and increased risk for high blood pressure, high blood sugar, and a condition that increases the risk for heart disease and diabetes, known as the metabolic syndrome.

'Very frightening'

Taken together, the studies provide new evidence that low Vitamin D levels may be putting a generation of children at increased risk for heart disease and diabetes, two of the nation's biggest health problems that are also increased by the childhood obesity epidemic.

"These are very important studies," said Richard S. Rivlin, a past president of the American Society for Clinical Nutrition who was not involved in the research. "They show the number of people who have high rates of Vitamin D deficiency is really very frightening."

Other researchers urged caution.

"The bottom line is that these numbers are interesting," said Frank R. Greer of the University of Wisconsin at Madison, who served on a panel that recently doubled the American Academy of Pediatrics recommendations for daily Vitamin D intake. "But I'm not ready to make a great hue and cry until we have more data. I think we should use them for further research to determine their significance."

The findings come as the National Academy of Sciences Institute of Medicine is reviewing the federal government's official guidelines for recommended daily intake of Vitamin D. A public hearing is scheduled as part of that process at the National Academy of Sciences in Washington on Tuesday.

Bowlegs

The most well-known health problem associated with Vitamin D deficiency is rickets, which can cause bowlegs and other bone malformations. Milk was fortified with Vitamin D in the 1930s to eliminate the disorder. But during the 1990s, doctors in several cities reported unusual numbers of cases, primarily in babies being breast-fed and mostly among African American children. A number of studies began to indicate that deficiencies might be common among adults - small studies found the same among children - and that deficiencies may be associated with a host of health problems. But the new studies are the first to examine the issue nationwide in young people.

Those who had low Vitamin D levels were more likely to have lower levels of a hormone associated with healthy bones, higher blood pressure levels and lower levels of "good" cholesterol, which helps protect against heart disease, Melamed and her colleagues found.

In the second study, Jared P. Reis of the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute analyzed data from about 3,500 adolescents from surveys conducted between 2001 and 2004, and found that compared with those with higher Vitamin D levels, those with the lowest levels had more than double the risk of having high blood pressure and blood sugar and about four times the risk for the metabolic syndrome, a group of symptoms that increases the risk for heart disease and diabetes.

Some longtime proponents of the health benefits of Vitamin D seized on the findings to urge parents to ask doctors to test their children's Vitamin D levels, consider increasing supplementation or make sure children spend more time outdoors to boost their levels.

"The sun has been demonized for years and as a result, people have avoided any direct exposure to sunlight," said Michael F. Holick of the Boston University School of Medicine. "I think that's the wrong message."

But others said they worried that encouraging children to spend more time in the sun could lead to more skin cancer, which is already the leading type of cancer.

Other reports that have been in the news include the following:

March 10, 2009: Getting out in the sunshine can be very beneficial to your health. The Vitamin D that you get from the sun, not only helps your bones & teeth grow strong but it can also help your chances to fight cancer.

Dec. 1, 2008: Studies show people with low Vitamin D levels were twice as likely to suffer from a heart attack or a stroke. NBC's Brian Williams reports.

Dr. Huntoon's Take on it

Having read this story, I have to say, I have been telling people this for the past 10 years at least. And it doesn't surprise me that they make a big story out of it, but they do not offer a real solution. What they do instead is place a strategic sentence at the end (highlighted in red) that makes one have fear over spending more time in the sun. As this could lead to more cancer, and they attribute the concern from "Others." Not sure who others are, nor do I care what others think, especially if it is based in fear.

I personally feel that based on the 30 years of experience I have, 27 ½ of it practicing as a licensed health care practitioner, that people need to continue to educate themselves about what nutrition is, what it does and, Most Importantly, how it affects your health.

If parents would be parents and take the time to learn what it takes to help your children be healthy, we would not be having these types of research studies, nor be fearful of kids developing deadly diseases.

My Advice To You

Take the time to learn about the role of vitamin D and the Sun along with its counterpart, vitamin F and what that is and does related to vitamin D. For information related to those topics and what the relationship is between Vitamin D, Vitamin F and Sunburn are, simply go to www.spineboy.com and read the articles. This will teach you how to avoid sunburn, the underlying cause of sunburn, and how to naturally prevent sunburn from occurring.

Then comes the hard part. You have to be a parent. You have to make sure your kids eat plenty of leafy green vegetables, and use plenty of butter. That's right, I said butter. Not Margarine, or some blended spread that involves Canola Oil, as both of these will lead to further health related problems over time.

See, GOD created vitamin F and put it in butter. And he also put it in leafy green vegetables. It's almost as if GOD knows what GOD is doing. And I can hear some of you saying, "But my kids won't eat their vegetables. Certainly not leafy green ones." And that is where you get to step up and be a parent. Not because they like it, but because it is good for them. And your job as a parent is to do what is good for them. I realize it can be a tough job, but that is the role you accepted when you had your children.

And when your doctor tells you about the newest, latest and greatest vitamin that is the solution for all of the diseases mentioned in the article (highlighted in red above); don't be surprised if they start recommending Vitamin D3. This is an isolated fraction of the whole vitamin D Complex and is not vitamin D itself. This vitamin, when taken by itself, will also lead to health concerns when taken in high levels without the rest of the vitamin D Complex. Why vitamin D3? Because that is the fraction they could isolate and then manufacture, thus allowing them to sell it to the general public. They could also develop a blood test that will tell you if you are deficient in it. So they have done their research, isolated this fraction of vitamin D, told the Medical Community what the plan is, developed testing to evaluate levels of Vitamin D3, and now everyone and their mother will be evaluated and asked to take this isolated synthetic fraction of vitamin D. Heck, that is what they recommend in the article, just before the fear based sentence at the end.

I say, why go through all the trouble of testing when you can simply get 20 minutes of sun every day and generate all the real, whole vitamin D your body needs. And if you are going to do the natural sun thing, leave the sunscreen at home. Or better yet, simply get rid of the sunscreen all together and don't buy into all the hype. If you'd like my help with this, I am always available to discuss this. My e-mail is Dr. Huntoon or call me at the office at (845)561-2225.